Carbon steels rates

A 25-tray distillation column, carbon steel, rated for 300 psig and 8-ft... 

CO2 corrosion often occurs at points where there is turbulent flow, such as In production tubing, piping and separators. The problem can be reduced it there is little or no water present. The initial rates of corrosion are generally independent of the type of carbon steel, and chrome alloy steels or duplex stainless steels (chrome and nickel alloy) are required to reduce the rate of corrosion. 

Fluorine can be handled using a variety of materials (100—103). Table 4 shows the corrosion rates of some of these as a function of temperature. System cleanliness and passivation ate critical to success. Materials such as nickel, Monel, aluminum, magnesium, copper, brass, stainless steel, and carbon steel ate commonly used. Mote information is available in the Hterature (20,104). 

Anhydrous HCl is stored in Hquid form under pressure at —25° C and these pressure containers are rated for 2—24 MPa (300—350 psig). The material of constmction for this purpose is carbon steel which should be ductile at very low (—87°C) temperatures. 

When a component at an austenitizing temperature is placed in a quenchant, eg, water or oil, the surface cools faster than the center. The formation of martensite is more favored for the surface. A main function of alloying elements, eg, Ni, Cr, and Mo, in steels is to retard the rate of decomposition of austenite to the relatively soft products. Whereas use of less expensive plain carbon steels is preferred, alloy steels may be requited for deep hardening. 

The original hot carbonate process developed by the U.S. Bureau of Mines was found to be corrosive to carbon steel (55). Various additives have been used in order to improve the mass transfer rate as well as to inhibit corrosion. Vetrocoke, Carsol, Catacarb, Benfteld, and Lurgi processes are all activated carbonate processes. Improvements in additives and optimization of operation have made activated carbonate processes competitive with activated MDEA and nonaqueous solvent based systems. Typical energy requirements are given in Table 9. 

Fig. 23. Corrosion rates of carbon steel as a function of pH of (a) the feedwater (18) and (b) boiler conditions (19).

Carbon steel is not normally a suitable piping material for concentrated sulfuric acid because of high corrosion rates in flowing acid. However, where temperatures and flow rates are low, heavy waU steel pipe is sometimes used for transferring product acid. 

Three commercial processes that use these various hot carbonate flow arrangements are the promoted Benfield process, the Catacarb process, and the Giammarco-Vetrocoke process (26—29). Each uses an additive described as a promoter, activator, or catalyst, which increases the rates of absorption and desorption, improves removal efficiency, and reduces the energy requirement. The processes also use corrosion inhibitors, which aHow use of carbon—steel equipment. The Benfield and Catacarb processes do not specify additives. Vetrocoke uses boric acid, glycine, or arsenic trioxide, which is the most effective. 

Carbon steel is easily the most commonly used material in process plants despite its somewhat limited corrosion resistance. It is routinely used for most organic chemicals and neutral or basic aqueous solutions at moderate temperatures. It is also used routinely for the storage of concentrated sulfuric acid and caustic soda [up to 50 percent and 55°C (I30°F)]. Because of its availability, low cost, and ease of fabrication steel is frequently used in services with corrosion rates of 0.13 to 0.5 mm/y (5 to 20 mils/y), with added thickness (corrosion allowance) to assure the achievement of desired service life. Product quahty requirements must be considered in such cases. 

Figure 5.2 Schematic of carbon steel corrosion rate versus exposure time in a typical oxygenated cooling water. Note how the average corrosion rate decreases with time and converges to CR at t (the minimum exposure time to get reproducible results).

The corrosion rate of carbon steel (and most cast irons) in pure water is about constant between a pH of 4 and 10 (see Fig. 5.5). In solutions containing strong acids such as hydrochloric and sulfuric, normally pro-... 

Hence, copper heat exchanger tubes handling acetic acid can he more seriously corroded at low temperatures than at high temperatures. Sulfuric acid at room temperature is handled routinely in carbon steel drums and tanks when water concentration is low, but it becomes extremely corrosive as water concentration increases. As ferric-ion concentration increases during acid cleaning of industrial systems, the corrosion rate of steel increases rapidly. 

To make martensite in pure iron it has to be cooled very fast at about 10 °C s h Metals can only be cooled at such large rates if they are in the form of thin foils. How, then, can martensite be made in sizeable pieces of 0.8% carbon steel As we saw in the "Teaching Yourself Phase Diagrams" course, a 0.8% carbon steel is a "eutectoid" steel when it is cooled relatively slowly it transforms by diffusion into pearlite (the eutectoid mixture of a + FejC). The eutectoid reaction can only start when the steel has been cooled below 723°C. The nose of the C-curve occurs at = 525°C (Fig. 8.11), about 175°C lower than the nose temperature of perhaps 700°C for pure iron (Fig. 8.5). Diffusion is much slower at 525°C than it is at 700°C. As a result, a cooling rate of 200°C s misses the nose of the 1% curve and produces martensite. 

Electrical conductivity is of interest in corrosion processes in cell formation (see Section 2.2.4.2), in stray currents, and in electrochemical protection methods. Conductivity is increased by dissolved salts even though they do not take part in the corrosion process. Similarly, the corrosion rate of carbon steels in brine, which is influenced by oxygen content according to Eq. (2-9), is not affected by the salt concentration [4]. Nevertheless, dissolved salts have a strong indirect influence on many local corrosion processes. For instance, chloride ions that accumulate at local anodes can stimulate dissolution of iron and prevent the formation of a film. Alkali ions are usually regarded as completely harmless, but as counterions to OH ions in cathodic regions, they result in very high pH values and aid formation of films (see Section 2.2.4.2 and Chapter 4). 

Protection potentials are usually determined experimentally because of the possibilities of error. Figure 2-9 shows experimental results for the potential dependence of weight loss rates for carbon steel [29,30]. Four curves are plotted at 25°C for the following media ... 

Fig. 2-9 Relation between potential and corrosion rate of a plain carbon steel in slowly circulating water. Definition of symbols ...

Which Alloy to Use. Unalloyed mild steel parts have been known to corrode at rates as high as 800 mils per year. The low-chrome steels, through 9-Cr, are sometimes much more resistant than mild steel. No corrosion has been reported, with both 2%-Cr and 5-Cr furnace tubes, whereas carbon steel tubes in the same service suffered severe coiTosion. The 12-Cr stainless steels are scarcely, if any, better than the low-chromes. But the 18-8 Cr-Ni steels, without molybdenum, are often quite resistant under conditions of low velocity although they are sometimes subject to severe pitting. 

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